The Mind & the Mine Connection
“Mine!” That’s what toddlers say when another child wants to play with their toys. I remember my own children saying “Mine!” It took some time to change their “minds” to be generous, kind and giving. But that “Mine!” attitude isn’t easy to break. Even, as adults, “mine” is a part of our DNA. My plans. My ideas. My way. My life. In the words of Frank Sinatra “I did it MY way!” Not anything against Frank, but that wasn’t a love song about a girl, a boy or even a city — it was about me, me, me.
I am from the “baby boomer generation” which was dubbed the “Me” generation aka the narcissistic, self-made, self-fulfillment generation. But I don’t think it started there. Since the beginning, “Mine” was an issue. Out of all the lush beauty and best of fruits to eat – Adam and Eve weren’t satisfied. They HAD to have THAT tree’s fruit. Samson HAD to have Delilah. King David HAD to have Bathsheba. Judas HAD to have the 30 pieces of silver. And we see the trouble “mine” got them. It seems to have carried over through all generations. It’s the enemy’s tactic. He authored it. It was about his glory as the highest of all angels, the anointed cherub, the most beautiful of all of God’s creations, but he was not content in his position. Instead, Satan desired to be God. “MINE” was and is his mode of operation. That’s why he isn’t content. He wants us, too!
You know the phrases: “My way or the highway”, “If it feels good do it”. There is even a magazine called SELF. I’m singing to the choir and a choir of angels are singing to us: Romans 12:10 calls us to “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another.” And, in Philippians 2:3 “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves.”
I’ve had plenty of time to learn to get it right…and I’m still learning. What I know are the consequences and the blessings that can come from how I conduct myself on a daily basis as a Child of God. Don’t get me wrong. I haven’t arrived, but thanks be to God, I’m way further down the road in learning my lessons well. I’ve learned that my mind, mouth, mood, and attitude are all intricately connected. When they run amuck, it’s because “It’s all about me!” Mine. My feelings. My way. And when I go there, my thoughts turn into words that I speak, and the two of them together turn into bad moods and attitudes.
For years, I paid no attention to what I was thinking, and I didn’t make the connection between my thoughts and the rest of my life. But God has taught me many things from His Word about the “mind connection” since those early days. The longer I follow and imitate Jesus, the more I realize the “Mine” or “Mind” attitude of humility. Philippians 2:5-9 explains it well: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
No longer is it about ME, about MINE. It is about HE. May God help us to humble our hearts AND our minds to become more like Him.